Writing content is hard and a lot of work. Some people make it look easy, but not all of us are naturally talented writers. If we were, we’d be writing the next bestseller. But with all the benefits of blogging, we need to overcome the objections and add this task to our marketing activities.
We are an impatient society. We want immediate response to our requests. We get frustrated when we have to wait for anything, especially for websites to load. If your website speed does not meet the patience criteria of your visitors, they will hit the back button, sending a signal to Google that your website is not a quality user experience. That behavior over time could affect your search engine ranking.
When I ask the question “Will You Find Your Next Client — or Will They Find You?”, it is a direct challenge to business owners to define an inbound marketing strategy that will encourage those who are ready to buy to contact you.
Selecting the best target market for your business is the most important but difficult part of the marketing plan. Business owners will make many excuses when asked why they have not chosen a target because they believe that targeting limits their opportunities.
People understand the value of having an in-house email list, but many small businesses haven’t started building their list or planning their email marketing strategy. Remember that there are only two things a business owns in the online world – your website and your email list.
Business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing is different. Understand the differences and develop marketing programs that are appropriate for your audience.
It’s the time of year where posts on marketing trends are more than abundant. You can find plenty of posts on digital marketing trends. But as I was working on my content audit, I came across a couple of posts on small business marketing trends for the years 2013 and 2014. As I reviewed these, I noticed something very interesting.
If someone is willing to invest in your business, what do you promise to do that provides value to them that matters? This promise, or value proposition, needs to be based on something you do that is uniquely different from your competition.
Many small businesses have content on their website that needs a bit of refreshing (including mine!). If your content was written more than a year ago, it may be time to schedule a content audit before you plan your content marketing activities.
How well do you communicate your value to your ideal client? What is needed to create a powerful marketing message that helps your target know exactly how you can help them and why they should work with you and not your competition.
A quality website is critical to a successful inbound marketing strategy. As the central focal point of your online marketing, your website needs to be up 24×7. Building your website in WordPress gives you the ability to manage and maintain the website yourself. But if you are managing your website personally, do you have a WordPress backup strategy in place?
We’re all busy running our businesses. We have plenty to do. When it comes to marketing, we need to focus on the essential marketing activities that can generate leads and sales.
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